A Day Without Ramen
by lovelymomo-chan
Summary: Teuchi, owner and prized ramen chef, just wanted a day off. Naruto just wanted some ramen. Hinata just wanted to have a nice birthday. Kiba and Shino wanted to make sure it was a nice birthday. I just wanted to write a summary. You might just want to read


**Oh, hello there ** Well, this was sort of inspired by an AMV with Haku and Sasuke singing a song from A Year Without a Santa Clause. (How does that apply to this crap-fic? Hmm. I don't think I even know.) Well, enjoy! I love you, **Jon!** Haha！

* * *

**A DAY WITHOUT RAMEN!?**

**らめんがないいい一日！？  
**

* * *

It was a normal day in Konoha. Birds were chirping, ninja's were training, and Tsunade had already lost half of her income on slot machines. Things couldn't possibly be any more normal that day. _I mean, everyone has to take a break once a while, right? _Naruto thought, trying to rationalize the situation, futilely at best, before letting out a scream so loud it echoed past the Hokage statues. 

Naruto walked as close as he could to the sign that read "Closed" so that he could verify it actually said that. Realizing it did in fact say "Closed", Naruto sunk to the ground as if his Ritalin prescription had finally taken affect. "Ichiraku can't be closed!" Naruto yelped like a hurt puppy. He picked himself up and took a seat at a bench across the street from his favorite ramen shop.

"N-Naruto-kun? I-is that.. you?" A familiar stuttering voice exclaimed. A group of three walked closer to the young man, it was team 8.

"Hinata-chan! Kiba! Shino!" Naruto cried. "Ichiraku is CLOSED"

"Closed?" Kiba's ears perked up. In all honesty, Kiba sort of enjoyed seeing Naruto in his weakened state. He smiled, considering how Naruto's usual smile – the one which made Hinata melt- was absent. Quickly realizing he was showing too much teeth to look "upset" he threw a frown on his face.

"You could just eat somewhere else." Shino said, wasting his breath on the desperate blonde who, as usual, couldn't take "No" as an answer. Shino smiled sadistically beneath the shadow of his collar.

"I don't know what to do!" Naruto cradled his head in his hands.

"You c-can.. eat with us!" Hinata said, boldly.

Naruto sighed. He didn't want to be rude to Hinata; she was always there for him and defended him in most arguments. "Sure." He said in a soft, breathy, sad tone.

"We're h-having… ramen!" Hinata announced.

Her teammates looked at each other. "We are?" They said in agreement and sighed. Dumplings had sounded so good to both of them, especially with their Hyuuga companion.

"ALRIGHT!" Naruto screamed.

"What about the dango, Hinata-dumpling?" Kiba blurted out.

Hinata turned around, her face blue from utter fright. "I.. f-forgot! Dumplings… I'm so sorry! I-umm" She didn't want to disappoint anyone, but a promise WAS a promise. "N-naruto.. kun.. I .. We can't have ramen. I p-promised Kiba and Shino! Is that okay?"

Naruto looked disgusted. "Dumplings? Who likes dumplings more than ramen'ttebayo!" He slumped and walked with a limp back to the bench outside of Ichiraku. "Open… open…… please…"

Hinata, on the other hand, was frozen. She just dissatisfied her secret crush and felt as if she had committed a crime punishable by death.

Shino and Kiba quickly took a hold of her hands on either side and walked her to the dango-ya on the other side of the road.

Inside, while they waited for their food, Kiba lifted Akamaru on top of the table. He was wearing a purple bow around his neck and a small kikkaichu was resting on his head. The pup also had a group of purple flowers between his teeth. Shino controlled the bug to pick up the bouquet and presented it to Hinata.

"Happy Birthday, Hinata!!" The young men said together and Hinata's hands opened up to catch the flowers (and the kikkachu!).

"Thank you!" She smiled brightly and got up to hug her teammates.

* * *

Naruto was still sitting on said bench half an hour later when Team 8 left the dumpling restaurant. 

"He's still there…" Hinata thought, a feeling of mortifying embarrassment filled her heart once again.

Kiba and Shino already knew the blonde was there. Maybe it was his stench or the fact he was still screaming at the ramen stand in front of him.

"Man, does that guy ever shut up? It's closed… get over it." Kiba snarled in Naruto's direction while walking a few feet away from the dango shop.

Shino hissed quietly, "Hmmph, speak for yourself, Kiba" he added.

"Haha, hey!" Kiba laughed, and jokingly punched his teammate. Kiba could take a joke today, his focus was more on why Hinata kept looking like she was about to die.

Naruto, between screaming and punching the bench, had another hairbrained scheme. Partially because his hunger clouded all other thoughts, he couldn't quite realize how inconvenient this plan was for the other party. "Teuchi, you bastard! I'll find where you live!" Naruto screamed and started to walk towards the master chef (and owner's) house.

Teuchi was enjoying a nice day off. He had already treated himself to three ramen-free meals and was watching the sunset from his deck while sipping a cold, well-deserved, beer.

"T E U C H IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII" A scream from below followed eardrum-puncturing fists pounding against his door. Teuchi's day off was over.

"Huh? N.. Naruto!? Is that you?" Teuchi coughed his beverage and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah! It's me! Why does everyone keep saying that today!?" Naruto was annoyed to say the least. "Anyway! I haven't eaten all day! Can you make me some ramen!?"

Teuchi's eyes closed and all the muscles in his body lost their strength. He let out a huge, goaded "Ugh!" and got up from his leasure chair, setting the beer on the table beside it. He opened the sliding glass door and walked inside his house. He opened the freezer and grabbed a large Tupperware bowl. "I knew it would come in handy… one day." He sighed and opened his front door.

Naruto was impatient as ever, his stomach aching like hell and growling intensely. "Well?"

"Here, just heat it up for a few minutes and have a good dinner. I want the bowl back though, okay?" Teuchi said while handing Naruto the frozen ramen container.

Naruto's eyes grew five times larger and a million times shinier. "THANK YOU, TEUCHI-SAMA!" He bowed deeply and ran off with the bowl, calling back "I'll return your bowl tomorrow!!!"

* * *

After treating Hinata to ice cream to cheer her up a little, Shino left her and Kiba to return home a little early. The smile from earlier hadn't left his face. The young Aburame knew a little more than he let on. 

Knowing Naruto would have bothered Hinata on her birthday, he woke up unusually early and met Kiba outside of Ichiraku. "Alright, you let me handle Teuchi," Shino nodded, "Go find Hinata some flowers with Akamaru and make sure they're purple."

"Of course! She loves purple!" Kiba picked up his pup and leaped into action, looking through the forest for the perfect flowers.

"Teuchi," Shino entered the ramen shop. "I'm afraid you'll have to take the day off." Shino consulted, having been appointed the official exterminator of Ichiraku. "There's an awful horde of wheat-eating bugs heading towards town. I sensed them this morning. Please lock down the shop and hide the noodles." The smile started to grow.

Teuchi bowed and thanked Shino for the update. "I'll bring some home with me, just in case. Thanks again, Shino."

Kiba and Shino met up once again and playfully pounded their fists together.

"Mission accomplished." Kiba said with a flashy grin.

Shino just pushed his glasses up and said, "Yeah."

Unbeknownst of the devious duo, Naruto woke up and whispered to his portrait of Team 7 "Today, I want some ramen."

---


End file.
